01/12/2024 6:33 pm (current 01/12/2024 6:40 pm)
Strike at Deutsche Bahn (DB) continues ©APA/dpa
Train drivers' union GDL ended the strike at Deutsche Bahn (DB) on Friday night. GDL head Claus Weselsky announced this in Berlin. In the next few hours, emergency hours will continue to be valid for the transportation of state-owned passengers. Rail traffic from Austria to Germany should resume normal operation starting tomorrow, Saturday.
“DB is preparing to resume its normal passenger services from the start of operations on Saturday morning and to enable a smooth start of operations,” the railway said. Only in individual regions could more trains resume running in local and S-Bahn traffic immediately after the end of the strike.
The GDL began the passenger transport strike on Wednesday morning and freight transport employees stopped work on Tuesday night. At the same time, the Transdev group, which operates regional trains in the northwest, Saxony and Bavaria, was also on strike. At Transdev, the strike ended at the last minute on Friday, at 12 pm. GDL and the company agreed to return to the negotiating table on Monday.
Initially there were no signs of new negotiations between GDL and DB. Shortly before the end of the three-day strike across Germany, the state railways again called on the union to return to the negotiating table. “We are ready to negotiate, we are ready to talk,” DB spokeswoman Anja Bröker said on Friday in Berlin. “It's now up to the GDL to return to the table. Strikes to enforce all demands – that's not how collective bargaining works.”
The GDL aims to achieve a reduction in working hours from 38 to 35 hours for shift workers in both companies with full salary compensation. The railways and Transdev have rejected this so far.
From tomorrow onwards, rail traffic from Austria to Germany and vice versa should run smoothly again. Night trains – connections to Amsterdam and Hamburg – will resume on Saturday night. ÖBB trains via Deutsche Eck and Westbahn were not affected by the strike.